Machine



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. L. BBRNARDIN. BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE.

No. 527,193. W Patented 0m. 9, 1894.

Witnesses:

Inventor.

4 OZ 2 Z W %Att0rneyJ 4 Sheets.-Sheet 2.

Patented Oct. 9,1894.

[was 60, Pucfouwm wAsumqrou. n. c

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheefi 3.

A. L. 'BERNARDINf BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE.

N0. 527,193. Patented Oct. 9, 1894.

m: Noah's "was 00., wommnou WASHINGTON, Dv c.

which the flange of UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED L. BERNARDIN, OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE BERNARDINMETALLIC CORK COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BOTTLE- -CAPPING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 527,193, dated October9, 1894.

i Application filed May 4, 1894. Serial No. 510,052. (No model.)

of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBottle-Capping Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame. i

My invention relates to improvements in bottle capping machines, andmore particularly to amachine for applying a metallic cap provided witha depending flange tothehead of a bottle having an annular shoulderagainst the cap ispressed in locking contact. I

The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple, compactmachine, adapted to be automatically operated from a single source ofpower.

Further objects of the invention are to provide effective means forkeeping the bottle in properalignment when the same is forced upward inposition to receive the cap; to provide automatic means forfeedingtheeaps,in con1.

bination with means for preventing the caps from crowding or interferingwith the capfeeding mechanism; to provide means for holding the caps andhead of the bottles in their proper relative positions for thecompression of the caps so as to prevent the breaking of the bottles;and toprovide means for conveying away the liquid from the machineshould a bottle break while compressing a cap around the head thereof.

With these several objects in view the invention consists in thefeatures of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fullydescribed and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure l is a side elevation of a machine embodying my improvements,some of the parts being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a sectional planview on the line lI-II of Fig. 1, illustrating the capfeeding mechanism.Fig.3 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line III-III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4; is an inverted planof the bottle and l a bevel gear a capaligning devices. Fig. 5 is a. plan view of the bottle holder with theliquid conveying trough arranged below said holder. Fig. 6 is asectional View on the line VIVI of Fig. 1, illustrating the cam andmeans for placing the bottle holder in proper alignment. Fig. 7 is aperspective view of the cap feeding finger. Fig. 8 is an inverted planview of the revolving feed table with the cam for releasing the bottlehead and cap aligning devices. Fig. 9 is an elevation of the capreleasing and aligning plunger removed from the machine. Fig. 10 is aslightly modified form of bottle holder. Fig. 11 is a view illustratingthe action of the aligning jaws on the bottle head and Fig. 12 is afragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the cap compressingmechanism and means for operating the same.

In the drawings A indicates the hollow with a flared base. The standardhas formed thereon bearings ct and a in which is journaled a drive ormain shaft 61. having on one end thereof a fast pulley a an idler a anda gear wheel a and on the other end of said shaft a slotted wheel aloosely mounted on the shaft and having secured thereto or formedintegrally therewith a sleeve of and g The bevel gear a? is in mesh withthe bevel gear b of the vertical shaft or spindle b; the said spindlebeing journaled in bearingsb of the bracket b, which bearing is securedto the standard, A. Upon the upper end of the spindle b is adj ustablyheld a bottle holding frame B; said frame having set screw, or othermeans, and is further provided with a spline for preventing saidholderfrom any movement except with the spindle. The apertures b of the bottleholder are adapted to register with a spring-pressed vertically movableplunger b arranged in the bracket b the upper end of said plunger havinga head or collar o preferably some- 5 what larger than the diameter ofthe bottle 1o tacle into which any liquid would be deflected by theshield u should a bottle break while in the frame B, thus preventing theliquidfrom passing intethebracketb around the bottle raising mechanism.The plunger b has a friction roller b at its lower end adapted to beengaged by the periphery of a cam (1 when the same is rotated. This camis held upon a shaft d having its bearing in the standard A andreceiving rotary motion through the gear wheel d secured to the oppositeend of the shaft and in mesh with the gear a of the main shaft. The camcarries on its outer surface a roller (i mounted upon a stud projectingfrom the cam, and adapted z 5 to successively enter the slots of thewheel a for the purpose of intermittently rotating said slotted wheel.

To prevent any movement of the wheel 0. beyond the desired point Ipreferably pro- .vide a sliding block d arranged in the standard andnormally pressed outwardly by a spring (i the said blockhavingaprojecting end d which engages slots or indentations in thesleeve 0. of the wheel at and serves to adjust andlock same againstmovement. The

block or locking device (1 is arranged in the path of movement of thecam d which cam has an inner cam surface d -whichcontacts with saidlocking device and releases the block from the indentations of thesleeve as the roller d enters the slots of the wheel a to rotate same.

Within the standard and on the countershaft (1 is a miter gear in meshwith a similar gear secured to the end of a vertical shaft E supportedin suitable hearings in said standard. Upon the vertical shaft near thetop of the standard is a collar e, shown in Fig. 3, above which is therevolving feed table F rigidly secured to said shaft for the purpose offeeding the caps to the co mpressing mechanism as will presently appear.The standard has the head plate F and the cap plate F secured to saidhead plate; the latter '55 serving to support the cap compressingmechanism. I

The cap compressing mechanism and means a for op'eratingthe same maybe'of any suitable construction, but I preferably use a revolving 6ochuck F supported upon a sleeve F depending from the cap plate F onwhich the chuck is adapted to revolve. This'chuck is provided within thelower portion with crimping or compressing rollers f, usually three,

normally pressed outwardly and yieldingly held therein by springs fwhich are located in sockets and which abut against a projection on theblockf in which said rolls are journaled. Arranged to press the blocksinwardly are rocking levers f pivotally se cured to the chuck, the lowerendsof which rest against the crimping roller blocks, while the upperends are adapted to press against cam blocks f located in the chuck, andby which the said lever is rocked on its pivot as will presently appear.end of the chuck is a gear f rotatably held on the sleeve F and which isin mesh with Secured to the upper the gear H journaled-on a stud securedto the cap plate. E the said gear H carrying. a smaller gear L which inturn meshes with the gear L secured to the vertical shaft E, and bywhich the train of gearing is revolved.

Above the cap plate F and secured to the vertical shaft E is a cam wheelm. As the cam wheel revolves, its cam surface contacts with the end of alever m pivotally secured to the cap plate and having its end normallyretained against the cam surface by a spring m The other or outer end ofthis lever passes into a boxing m and has its end forked and recessed toform a striking head m adapted to strike the flanged upper end of ahollow sleeve m slidingly held in the sleeve F the said sleeve m havingits lower end beveled to operate the cam blocks f when the lever m isrocked on its pivot. The outer end m of the lever by striking the sleevem forces the same downwardly causing the beveled end to force the blocksf against the rocking levers f thereby forcing the compressing rollsinwardly to crimp the cap around the bottle head after the same has beenplaced in position. The sleeve m surrounds a centering bar f 6 whichpasses through said sleeve and the chuck and is ad-' justably held inthe boxing m by a nut f and has an enlarged recessed lower end f toreceive the cap when the bottle is in position to have the capcompressed.

To retain the cap on the headof the bottle after receiving the same bythe cap feeding mechanism I have provided an auxiliary plunger f (seeFigs. 3, 9 and 12) which is slidingly held within the centering rod fand preferably provided with a spring f which tends to normally presssaid plunger downwardly. The small plunger f has a pin f working in aslot in the centering rod f; the

- said pinf serving to limit the throw of the plunger and to prevent anyrotary movement thereof. i

The cap feeding mechanism consists ofa revolving table F, secured to thevertical shaft E and formed with a cam groove g which receives a rollerg depending from a feed-fl nger '9 Above the revolving table F issupported a stationary feed-plate 9 having a removable plate 9 securedthereto in such manner as to form a passage for the caps as the feedtable revolves; the said passage preventing the crowding of said caps byproviding" a single passage therefor. The feed-plate g is recessed at gto permit the caps to be placed 4S l k of the jaws serve to place thebottles in upon the revolving table and is provided with an olf-set g"?which serves to guide the feedfinger g as said finger reciprocates backand forth by the action of the cam groove of the provide aretainin g rodh (Fig. 2) which is slidingly held upon the stationary feed-plate g Thisbar is preferably angular and is provided on the outer end of theangular portion with a roller 77/ which is normally pressed forward by aspring h against a cam 72 This cam is rigidly secured to the verticalshaft E so that as saidshaft revolves the cam will force the retainingbar h against the tension of the spring'h permitting a cap to be fed bythe revolving table to the feed-finger g l The revolving table F isprovided on its under surface with a cam-actuating ribt' having the camfaces 2''. The cam tacts upon a roller j mounted upon a projecting studof a sliding block j. This block is slidingly heldin a recess in thehead plate F and is normally pressed against the cam 11 by the spring jthe said block havingadepending end j passing through a slot in the headplate. On each side of the depending endj of the sliding block andpivotally secured to the underside of the head plate are two arms isandlc'. These arms are arranged to be separated or moved on their pivotsby the block j as said block is actuated by the cam t'ot' the revolvingfeed table. The outer end of the arms is and 7c engage depending lugs orpins 70 of the jaws k and 16 The jaws 71: and k are slidlngly held inthe head plate by the stems k fitting in apertures in the head plate andare normally pressed together by springs k arranged in the apertures inthe rear of the stems k of said jaws. These jaws have a beveled lowersurface 70 and a straight face 10 preferably beveled at the upper edgeat 70. The straight edge or face proper alignment to receive the caps bysaid edge abutting against the shoulder and head of the bottle, as bestshown in Fig. 11. This is an important feature for the reason that thebottle holding cups are generally somewhat larger than the bottle toaccommodate variations in the diameters of the bottle.

Without such a device the bottles are liable to shift sidewise andconsequently will not be in proper position to receive the caps,resulting either in the breaking of the bottle while compressing the capinto engagement with the shoulder or compressing the caps irregularlyaroundthe bottle head.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The bottle holder beingsupplied with hottles and the machinery started, one of the bottle cupsor thimbles will rest upon the head 19 of the plunger and be raised bythe contact of the cam d with the roller of said plunger. The jaws k andk at this time are in position to place the bottle in proper alignmentto receive its cap which has simultaneously been fed forward by thefeed-finger 9 The cam t' of the revolving table acting upon the slidingblock j forces open the arms 0 and 7a which open the jaws and 70 thesaid jaws being held open by said cam during the crimping of thecaparound the head of the bottle and while said bottles are lowered bythe plunger. At the same time that the jaws k and 76 are released fromthe bottle head, and as the bottle continues to ascend the cap is caughtand retained in its proper position on the head by the auxiliary plungerf till it reaches the centering rod f. The compression rollers of thechuck now act upon the cap and compress the same around the-shoulder ofthe bottle head. The camd, as soon as the cap is compressed, permits thebottle and plunger to be lowered. At the same time the cam releases thelocking device 61 from engagement with the slotted wheel a which is thenrevolved by the roller 01 entering the slots of said wheel. The rotationof the slotted wheel imparts a like movement to the bottle-holder bymeans of the miter gears a and b, thereby placing another bottle inposition to be raised to re-' ceive its cap. This is accomplished by theearn (1 acting upon the spring-pressed plunger b the said cam receivingrotary motion through the counter-shaft CZ, gear (1 and gear a thelatter being secured to the driving shaft. i

It will be seen that by the foregoing arrangement, the bottles, caps andcompressing mechanism are retained in such relation to each other thatthe liability of breakage of the bottles is reduced to a minimum. Theparts are so adjusted and arranged that the operation of the machine isautomatic and continuous.

It is obvious that the number of slots in the wheel a, the number ofslots or indentations in said wheel for the engagement of the lockingdevice, and the number of bottle holding cups may be varied, providedthe relative adjustment is maintained, andthe required correspondence asto number is observed; r

In Fig. 10 I have illustrated a bottle holding frame having simplyradial arms extending, from a central hub, instead of a disk, as shownin the preferred form.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with a supportingstandard and a driving shaft, of mechanism for. raising the bottle,devices for compressing the caps into engagement with the shoulder ofthe bottle, mechanism for automatically feeding the caps, and jawsarranged upon a stationary portion of the standard for aligning thebottie for. the reception of the cap, substantially as described.

nation with a supporting standard and adriving shaft, of mechanism forraising the bottle, devices for compressing the cap into engagement withthe shoulder of the bottle, mechanism for automatically feeding thecaps, together with a reciprocating bar for preventing the caps fromcrowding the feeding mechanism, substantially as described.

4.. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with a supportingstandard and a driving shaft, of mechanism for raising the bottles,devices for compressing the cap into engagement with the shoulder of thebottle, mechanism for holding the bottle in proper alignment, mechanismfor automatically feeding the caps, together with a cam-actuatedreciprocating bar for preventing the caps from crowding the feedingmechanism, substantially as described.

5. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with a supportingstandard and a driving shaft, of mechanism for raising the bottles,devices for compressing the cap into engagement with the shoulder of thebottle, mechanism for automatically feeding the caps, together with ayielding plunger for retaining and adjusting the caps upon the head ofthe bottle in its ascent, substantially as described.

6. The combination, in a bottle capping machine, of mechanism forraising the bottles, devices for compressing the caps into engagementwith the shoulder of the bottle, mechanism for feeding the caps,devicesfor aligning the bottle for the reception of the caps, together with ayielding plunger for retaining and adjusting the cap during the' ascentI of the bottle, substantially as described.

7. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with a supportingstandard and a driving shaft, of mechanism for raising the bottles,devices for compressing the caps into en gagement with the shoulder ofthe bottle, mechanism for automatically feeding the caps, devices forpreventing the caps from crowding the feeding mechanism, mechanism foraligning the bottle for the reception of the caps, together with ayielding plunger for retaining and adjusting the caps on the bottle headduring its ascent, substantially as described. r

8. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the revolving feedtable, of a reciprocating feed finger, a stationary plate supportedabove said table, and a reciprocating bar arranged above said stationaryplate for preventing the caps from crowdingagainst the feed-finger,substantially as described.

9. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the main shaft andcounter-shaft, of a vertical shaft rotated by said countershaft, arevolving feed-table mounted on said vertical shaft, a reciprocatingfeed-finger, and a reciprocating bar operated by the vertical shaft forpreventing the caps from crowding against the feed-finger, substantiallyas described.

10. In a ,bottle capping machine, the combiation with the revolvingtable and mech anism for feeding the caps, of a reciprocating retainingbar arranged above said table for preventing the caps from crowding thefeeding mechanism, and means for operating said bar, substantially asdescribed.

11. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with a rotary shaft andmeans for rotating said shaft, of a revolving feed-table secured to theshaft, means for feeding the caps a cap-retaining bar arranged abovesaid table, and a cam secured to the shaft for operating the retainingbar, substantially as described.

12. Ina bottle capping machine, the combination with a vertical shaftand means for rotating said shaft, of a revolving feed table secured tothe shaft, a spring-pressed cap retaining bar arranged above said table,together with a cam for operating the retaining bar, substantially asdescribed.

13. In abottle capping machine, the combination with a vertical shaftand means for ro-' tating said shaft, of a revolving table mounted onsaid vertical shaft, a reciprocating finger, a stationary feed-platearranged above said table, and a supplemental plate secured to the feedplate .to form a covered single passage for the caps, substantially asdescribed.

14. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the supportingstandard and the head plate arranged thereon, of a revolving table,sliding jaws arranged in said head plate, and connections between thejaws and the revolving table for actuating said jaws, substantially asdescribed.

15. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the supportingstandard and the head plate arranged thereon, of a revolving tablehaving a cam thereon, of spring-pressed jaws arranged in the head plate,and means connected with the sliding jaws and operated by the cam of therevolving table, substantially as described. a

16. In a bottle capping machine the combination with the supportingstandard and capcompressing mechanism, of aligning jaws yieldinglyarranged upon the standard below said cap-compressing mechanism,substantially as described.

17. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the supportingstandard and the head plate, of a revolvingtable having a cam on theunder side thereof, a sliding block adapted to be moved by the cam ofthe revolving table, jaws arranged in the head plate, V

scribed.

19, The combination with feed and capcompressing mechanisms, of astationary centering bar, and a movable plunger arranged in said bar,substantially as described.

20. The combination with feed and capcom pressing mechanisms, of acap-retaining plunger yieldingly arranged within thestationaryportionsof thecap-compressingmechanism, substantially asdescribed.

21. The combination with the feed and capcompressing mechanisms, of astationary centering bar, and a spring-pressed cap-retaining plungerarranged in said bar, substantially as described;

22. In a bottle capping machine, the combi nation with the drivingshaft, the cap feeding and compressing mechanism, and a plunger forraising the bottles, of a cam mounted upon a counter-shaft and arrangedto operate the plunger, a radially slotted wheel mounted loosely uponthe drive shaft, a gear wheel turning with said slotted wheel torevolve. the bottle holder spindle when the slotted wheel is turned bysaid cam, together with a sliding block for locking the slotted wheel,

substantially as described, I

23. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the standard, thedrive shaft, and the bottle holder, of a slotted wheel mounted on saidstandard, a counter-shaft, a cam arranged on the counter-shaft to rotatethe slotted Wheel a locking device engaging the slotted wheel andarranged to be released by said cam, and connections between the slottedwheel and the bottle holder whereby both may rotate in unison,substantially as described.

24. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the standard, thedrive shaft, and the bottle holder, of a slotted wheelmounted on saidstandard, a counter-shaft, a cam arranged on the counter-shaft to rotatethe slotted wheel a sleeve provided with slots secured to said slottedWheel, a spring-pressed locking device engaging the slots of thesleeve,the said locking device arranged to be released by the cam, andconnections between the bottle holder and the slotted wheel, wherebyboth wheel and bottle holder may rotate in unison, substantially asdescribed.

25. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with bottle liftingmechanism, of a bottle holder provided with apertures and bottleholdingcups or thimbles arranged in said apertures, substantially as described.

26. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the bottle holder,the bottle raising plunger and mechanism therefor, of a deflectorarranged above the plunger mechanism and having an aperture throughwhich said plunger passes, substantially as described. I

27. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the bottle liftingmechanism, of a bottle holder provided with apertures therethrough,perforated bottle holding cups or thimbles' arranged in said apertures,and means for revolving the bottle holder, substantially as described.

28. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the bottle holder,the bottle raising plungerand mechanism therefor,of a deflectorarrangedabove the plunger mechanism and having an aperture through which saidplunger passes, and a trough arranged below said deflector,substantially as described.

29. In a bottle capping machine, the combination with the supportingstandard and capcompressing mechanism, of aligning jaws ar ranged uponthe standard below said capcompressing mechanism,togetherwith means foropening and closing said jaws, substantially as described.

30. In a bottle capping machine, the combi nation with a standard, of arevolving table arranged upon said standard, a reciprocatingfeed-finger, a stationary feed-plate arranged above said table, togetherwith a supplemental plate secured to the feed plate to form, a coveredpassage for the caps, substantially as described. I

I 31. In a bottle capping machine the combination with bottle liftingmechanism, of a bottle holder, and bottle holding cups or thimblesprovided with apertures arranged upon said bottle holder, substantiallyas described.

In testimon y whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED L. BERNARDIN. Witnesses: Y

CHAS. E. RIORDON, WM. R. CRownLL.

